Blessings to you this Friday! A great way to begin a new study, "he will keep you (us) strong to the end". I am counting on that promise.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanksgiving
4I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.5For in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge--6because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.7Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.8He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.9God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.(the following is from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary -- www.christnotes.org)
Chapter Contents
A salutation and thanksgiving. (1-9) Exhortation to brotherly love, and reproof for divisions. (10-16) The doctrine of a crucified Saviour, as advancing the glory of God, (17-25) and humbling the creature before him. (26-31)
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
All Christians are by baptism dedicated and devoted to Christ, and are under strict obligations to be holy. But in the true church of God are all who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, and who call upon him as God manifest in the flesh, for all the blessings of salvation; who acknowledge and obey him as their Lord, and as Lord of all; it includes no other persons. Christians are distinguished from the profane and atheists, that they dare not live without prayer; and they are distinguished from Jews and pagans, that they call on the name of Christ. Observe how often in these verses the apostle repeats the words, Our Lord Jesus Christ. He feared not to make too frequent or too honourable mention of him. To all who called upon Christ, the apostle gave his usual salutation, desiring, in their behalf, the pardoning mercy, sanctifying grace, and comforting peace of God, through Jesus Christ. Sinners can have no peace with God, nor any from him, but through Christ. He gives thanks for their conversion to the faith of Christ; that grace was given them by Jesus Christ. They had been enriched by him with all spiritual gifts. He speaks of utterance and knowledge. And where God has given these two gifts, he has given great power for usefulness. These were gifts of the Holy Ghost, by which God bore witness to the apostles. Those that wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be kept by him to the end; and those that are so, will be blameless in the day of Christ, made so by rich and free grace. How glorious are the hopes of such a privilege; to be kept by the power of Christ, from the power of our corruptions and Satan's temptations!
So glad you're back! I struggle with having a consistent Bible study; this helps me so much, and I thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have been praying for your step-mother and all of you as you struggle down this road. I will add to my list your daughter as well as the one struggling with alcoholism. In thinking about your daughter, it's just so wily how Satan works--attacking people where they feel vulnerable--when I look at pictures of your daughters, I see them both as pretty AND having sweet faces (you as a mom know what I mean by that! Attitude shows up on a person's expression!) but somehow your daughter sees something lacking in herself. I hurt for her. Adolescence and young adulthood are hard and I think most people go through it with at least a little bit of a skewed, inaccurate view of themselves, but for some it's an even harder battle. I'm sure that you shoulder a lot of burdens--there is something both wise and reassuring about you and people (including myself!) are drawn to that--but the downside is, sometimes you need to find rest for your own weary soul. I will pray for that as well.
Thank you so much, Kris. I am truly grateful for your prayers right now.
DeleteI have given a lot of thought to my role as a wife and mother. You know that I've often felt inadequate, because I don't have a grand career. But really, I can now see God's grand plan. I am to remain relatively free so that I can be here when others need me. It's a role that modern society doesn't recognize as important. But it's become one of the most important roles I could fulfill.
I, too, struggle with staying in the Word consistently. I think that is why God urged me to start this one -- to keep His word in me. I'm glad it can help you, too. Clever God we have, finding the right technology to meet each of our spiritual needs!
Have a great weekend!
Well, we can feel inadequate together. :) I have struggled a lot this past year from a slightly different standpoint--for years I worked full-time as a professional and I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I'd be working a much more consistent schedule "professionally" than I currently am now that my kids are in school full-time. I've had a few people ask me why I don't work more during the past few months ... and then the horrible winter happened and I couldn't work much ... in the process God brought me to a quiet place to really reflect on His purpose in my life. You're right, the stay-at-home role is viewed with skepticism in our current world but ... it seems this is where I am supposed to be. If I can remember to keep His view in the front of my mind, then I can be happy with my role and not feel defensive of what I do.
DeleteHope you have a restful weekend.
I think we have to accept that there will be people who don't understand our acceptance of God's will in our lives. People simply will criticize if they don't know differently.
DeleteYou may not know exactly what God is doing by having you home more. But for all you know, you are making a huge difference in someone's life right now, by being available for them. Or God may have you storing up energy to fulfill a special role. Or this could be a time for you to just be, so you can grow closer to Him. He does give us times of rest, in addition to times of service. Or, as old-fashioned as this is, maybe this is a time for your husband's self-worth as a provider to shine.
For my own self, I can see that if I had been busier with a career, my daughter wouldn't have wanted to "bother" me with fears and worries, the person in my life with alcohol dependency might have just slid past me, and my step-mom wouldn't know that I am here for her, and available to come and stay through surgeries and treatments, if she needs. Maybe there will be a career for me in another few years. It's actually something I pray for.
I think a certain amount of solitude and reflection is really helpful in finding peace with God's will.
Blessings!